Virtually all experts agree that trans fats are not good for you. The primary arguments have been centered around the fact that trans fats increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes by lowering good cholesterol and raising the levels of bad cholesterol. A new study, published in the January issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, has uncovered a new risk linked to trans fat consumption: an increased risk of infertility.
The study was conducted by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, who studied the trans fat intake of nearly 20,000 married women who tried (with varying degrees of success) to get pregnant over an 8 year period. The risk of infertility "increased by 73 percent for every 2 percent of energy [the women] took from trans fat instead of carbohydrates.... by 79 percent for every 2 percent of energy from trans fats instead of omega-6 polyunsaturated fats [and] more than doubled for every 2 percent of energy from trans fat instead of monounsaturated fat." That two percent of energy is the equivalent of approximately 4 grams of trans fat per day for an average weight woman.
